The invention disclosed herein relates generally to systems and methods for user management of electronic messages. More particularly, the present invention provides a filter method and system for selective delivery and/or display of messages, such as instant messages, based on a sender's characteristics.
Instant messaging (IM) is a communication technology used by internet enabled computing devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants, and cell phones. Unsolicited/unannounced instant messages impede workplace efficiency, which is inimical to the original intent behind IM technology. As a result, the inventors have recognized a need for a robust, dynamic method for differentiating between desirable and undesirable messages to determine which instant messages should be delivered.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0083136 A1 discusses a method of authorizing receipt of an instant message by a recipient user, which is a limited, insufficient, solution to the problem described above. This approach requires each IM recipient to manually maintain a static listing of authorized senders, which are categorized to denote delivery priority. A user may categorize their IM status as available, unavailable or busy-but-on-line or emergency so that potential senders may know whether they are able to send instant messages to the user. However, maintenance of the static listing requires constant updating, deleting and adding of authorized senders.